Matchmaking Romance from Delsora Lowe
Fellow Rose, Delsora Lowe, writes heartwarming romances about couples who are meant to be together. She is here to tell us about her writer life and her new book releasing on October 17, 2022.
Welcome Delsora,
What are some of your favorite things? Foods. Flowers. Books. Whatever.
I have a ton of favorite things, but my NUMBER ONE is my three grandchildren and my two children. I do love cooking. I love bright colors—so that includes the beautiful colors of spring flowers, summer greenery, and fall change of leaves. But even winter has wonderful colors—icy blues, winter white, gray white, brown white (that melting snow mixed with the sand they toss on the roads,) and vivid, deeper blue skies, plus the various holiday colors—greens, reds, blues, and oranges…
What interesting jobs have you had? How have those jobs affected your writing?
If you count my very first job (after babysitting,) at age 13 or 14, when I had to get a worker’s permit, I worked in a department store in the teen clothing section, enticing teen buyers with Bonnie Bell cosmetics and scents, while modeling Hecht Company clothing. I even appeared in a runway fashion show. I was late to our run-through (and still tend to run late,) so I got stuck wearing the “fashionable” black peddle-pushers with dime size silver studs marching up the length of the outside, that no one else wanted to wear. I was mortified.
As a five-year old I helped my mom grow parsley and peddled, rubber-banded bunches to my neighbors for a quarter. They thought I was so adorable. How things change. After that, the usual waitressing, scooping ice cream, and finally cooking in a fraternity (now that was interesting) and restaurants, before I started catering. From there I worked in mostly non-profits, ranging from working at a rape-crisis center, to a policy-making commission on children’s issues, and then at a state woman’s commission where we advised the governor, department heads, and the congressional and senatorial delegations—back in the days when everyone listened and considered our advice. I also wrote a lot of grants and newsletters, where I came into my own, and realized how much I loved writing. Before I retired, I worked in several independent schools and a college, in alumni relations, event planning, fundraising, and writing for the alumni magazines and on-line newsletters.
Where do you get your ideas?
In every story I write, pieces of me and my experiences are woven into the book, or are inspiration for a character or setting. And living in several countries and states, as I grew up, have also added a wealth of diverse knowledge that I can draw on for my writing and creation of ideas. The idea for my latest book came while I was driving from Vermont to Maine and I saw a lane sign off a rural, mountainous road that ran beside a gurgling creek: Gooseneck Lane. I had stayed in several inns and B&Bs in Vermont, and also went to college in that state. My first thought was that road sign would make a great inn name, AND the story was born.
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
I am excited that my first novel for The Wild Rose Press, The Inn on Gooseneck Lane, a holiday book that spans time from Thanksgiving, through Christmas, to New Year’s Eve, will be released on October 17, 2022, and is up for preorder now. I will have a novella, Holiday Hitchhiker, out in November. This is part of the Christmas in Angels Glen trilogy, written with two of my writer friends. Each book is a stand-alone. They all take place the week prior to Christmas, when their characters are stranded during a series of blizzards. Each book ends in the town of Angels Glen with a surprise—but I’m not telling what it is. Mine is scheduled to release sometime in late November or early December. Going into 2023, I will be working on editing books 3 (Rescuing the Sheriff) and 4 (The Rancher’s Second Wife) in the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, and also editing book 2 in the Hartford Estate series. Ambitious for me, but knock-on-wood, I can get at least two of those books out in 2023. And…more plans for 2024.
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Besides, the usual advice of joining romance writer’s groups, and taking both writing skills and inspiration workshops, my biggest advice is to: (1) Write from your heart, and (2) not write only to market.
And, (3) when you are stuck, try something new. I joined a local writing group where the members write memoirs, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Some are short, independent pieces. Others add to their story each week, and we are left in suspense until the next meeting, a week later. Each month the leader sends out a list of prompts—both words and sentences. The stipulation is to not write anything that will take longer than five minutes to read. Yes, we read our work out loud at each meeting. Ahhhh…a bit intimidating, but fun.
This kind of writing allows me to just let loose and write about anything I want. I couldn’t believe how freeing this writing-for-the-fun-of-it has been. And…the benefit is that several times it has jumpstarted my muse for my fiction writing, or been fodder for turning the short piece into a blog. Plus, reading work out loud in front of others gives you the opportunity to read with feeling. And…hear your own words. I practice reading it over and over, to infuse the inflection into my voice, and make what I read come alive for not only others, but for me.
I joined just to get out after the long and lonely last few years of pandemic-induced isolation, and to meet new people in my town. I’ve met wonderful and supportive people, and at the same time I have reinvigorated my own excitement about writing.
So have fun with your writing. Get out of your comfort zone. Doing so makes your writing so much better! Or at least easier to jump start that sometimes-stubborn muse.
The Inn on Gooseneck Lane
by Delsora Lowe
When a small-town boy breaks a city girl’s heart, and they are thrown together years later
by well-meaning, interfering relatives to revive the holiday-festooned Vermont inn,
can they learn to forget, forgive, and rekindle lost love?
Nat Thomas calls Mistletoe Falls, Vermont home where summers were magical, her aunt became the parent she needed, and high school love bloomed. Sixteen years later, that love lost, Nat returns home for a much-needed break. She’s recruited to revitalize her aunt’s picturesque inn. Will the boy who broke her heart be the man who rallies to save her home and capture her heart…for good?
Brad Matthews returns home to buy Green Mountain Sports, after years as an outdoor adventure guide. He’s thrown into partnering an event to revive the town’s inn and boost his business. Can he work with the woman who demolished his heart and ran with no explanation?
In a small town where everyone knows your business and interfering relatives revive snicker-doodling, the lost art of matchmaking, Nat and Brad may not stand a chance. Can the two find enough heart to forgive and accept love again?
Publish Date: October 17, 2022
Available for PREORDER: e-book or print
Barnes & Noble: The Inn on Gooseneck Lane by Delsora Lowe | NOOK Book (eBook) | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
Apple Books: The Inn on Gooseneck Lane on Apple Books
Learn more about Delsora Lowe
~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~
Delsora Lowe is the author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine, and their special 5-Minute Romance Holiday digest.
Her novella, The Love Left Behind, Hartford Estate, released in October, 2020. Two Christmas books are due out during the fall of 2022—The Inn on Gooseneck Lane and Holiday Hitchhiker. She will be editing the third Cowboys of Mineral Springs book, as well as the second Hartford Estate book, for release in 2023.
Do you love reading holiday romances? Delsora would love to hear from you. Post your thoughts and comments below.
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Congratulations!!! I’m so excited for you and can’t wait to read your new book!
Thanks so much, Susan – I hope you enjoy the story! Me biting my nails… ? Thanks for checking in today. I really appreciate it!!!!
Congratulations on your two new holiday releases! Your real life adventures and experiences enhance your stories. Love how you maintain your energy and productivity. I’ve lost a bit of my own these past couple of years. Thanks for ideas to regain them.
Judith – so glad you could wander over to Zara’s blog. I think in anything we do, especially when it is creative, that we tend to wander in and out of that life. Being creative takes a lot of energy and a clear mind. Neither of which stick with me all the time. But luckily, I have so many wonderful and supportive author friends – like you – who see me through and give me nudges along the way.
Love your advice to new writers! And I sympathize with trying to provide information to politicians. But it sounds like you’ve has some interesting jobs. Your new book sounds great! Best of luck with its release.
Barbara – thanks so much for stopping by today! I appreciate it. I am glad I don’t work in those fields these days – it is so hard to offer advice and / or a backdrop to issues and know that people will at least listen and consider. This book has so many things in it that are related to adventures in my life, so it was a fun book to write.
This sounds like a great story and a chance to revisit Vermont in the snow. Congratulations!
Sue – thanks for visiting. I spent my college years in Vermont – back when the snow piles were crazy high. And then visiting and staying in B&Bs and inns. So, this book was fun to write!
Deb, great getting to know you better!
Jennifer – so glad you were able to stop by! See you soon, on ZOOM!
Zara – thanks so much for having me here today. I’m really excited about my new book – my first release through The Wild Rose Press.
CONGRATULATIONS, Deb!!!! HUG! Anne ??❤️❤️????
Anne – so glad you could stop by the blog. I so appreciate it! Miss you a ton! One of these days I’ll get to D.C. and we can get together and yak